In preparation for NCAA Season 98, Lyceum of the Philippines University participated in a number of preseason tournaments in its bid to make the Final Four for the first time since 2019.
And Ato Barba is happy to see their work pay dividends as they upset last season's runner-up Mapua University on Wednesday.
"Maganda 'yung naging preseason namin sa FilOil kasi nung last Season 97 wala namang preseason so pagdating ng Season 97, sabak na eh," said Barba, who powered Lyceum to a 76-67 victory over the Cardinals.
Barba scored a game-high 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field alongside three rebounds and two assists.
"'Di namin nalaman 'yung mga mali namin and at least ngayon may preseason so at least nalaman namin 'yung mga kailangan naming i-improve at kulang pa namin."
Lyceum finished second to last in the previous season with a 2-7 win-loss card, but they used that as motivation in a busy and fruitful preseason. They joined the 2022 FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup, where they reached the quarterfinal stage before falling to Adamson University.
They also joined Milcu and UCBL as part of the Pirates' Season 98 preparations.
And the lessons they learned from these tournaments eventually led to their early season win against Mapua, as they recovered from an 86-69 first day loss to the CSB Blazers.
"Alam naman namin sa labas 'yung laro ng Mapua so nag-adjust kami sa defense. Talagang sabi ni coach sa amin na 'pag may naiwan, magtulong-tulong lang kami," Barba added.
"'Pag may naiwan, he-help lang so ayun naman, nagawa naman naming laro."
—JMB, GMA News
